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Nokia 8.1 set to go official today, India launch expected on December 10

Nokia 8.1 set to go official today, India launch expected on December 10

Following the Dubai launch, HMD will be coming to India to announce the Nokia 8.1. The phone will replace the Nokia 7 Plus in India and is expected to cost around Rs 25,000

HMD Global is holding its Expect More event later today in Dubai. The company has been teasing three new Nokia smartphones for this event, and it is widely understood that one of them will most certainly be the Nokia 8.1 aka Nokia X7. The phone has been in the news for a while, pretty much since the Nokia X7 was unveiled in China. This phone is expected to come to India on Monday, December 10. The event in Dubai will begin at 8:30pm IST and you can catch the livestream via the company's official YouTube channel.

Following the Dubai launch, HMD will be coming to India to announce the Nokia 8.1 and perhaps a few more phones. Just last week, the company quietly launched the Nokia 7.1, which is a phone that brings a lot of the same design and hardware as the Nokia 6.1 Plus. The Nokia 7.1 has been launched at Rs 19,999 and may be one of the three phones that hMD announces at its Dubai event later today.

The Nokia 8.1 is expected to replace the Nokia 7 Plus in India as it brings updated hardware and a more premium glass design. This means you can expect a price tag of around Rs 25,000 in India. This would give the Nokia 8.1 a nice little edge over the newly launched Oppo R17 Pro which has been priced at Rs 45,990.

Based on what we know so far, the Nokia 8.1 will offer a 5.18-inch notched FHD+ (2246x1080) display on the front with a PureDisplay screen technology that offers higher contrast and accurate colours. It will get Gorilla Glass protection on the front and back along with coloured accents around the rear camera, fingerprint sensor and frame. The Nokia 8.1 will be offered in three colours - Red, Silver and Blue.

Since this is tipped to be the global variant of the Nokia X7, it is expected that the Nokia 8.1 will be powered by a 2.2GHz octa-core Snapdragon 710 chipset. As per marketing images that were leaked last week, the phone will be offered in two variants - 4GB + 64GB and 6GB + 128GB. The Nokia 8.1 will pack a 3,400mAh battery and should ship with Android 9 Pie as part of the Android one program. As for the cameras, the Nokia 8.1 will offer a Zeiss-branded dual cameras on the back with a 12MP + 13MP configuration, and a 20MP front-facing camera, which would be a major bump from the Nokia 7 Plus.

At the Nokia Dubai event, HMD may also announce the Nokia 9 flagship as per some reports. But this seems unlikely as companies rarely launch a flagship phone at the end of the year. Instead, HMD may be looking at MWC 2019 to launch its penta-camera Nokia phone. It remains to be seen if HMD has a few surprises up its sleeve at today's event.